(i knew you) tried to change the ending

Posted originally on the Archive of Our Own at http://archiveofourown.org/works/41515860.

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply
Category: F/F
Fandom: Darna (TV 2022)
Relationship: Narda Custodio | Darna/Regina Vanguardia | Valentina
Character: Narda Custodio | Darna, Regina Vanguardia | Valentina, Ding Custodio
- Character, Brian Robles - Character, Roberta Ferrer-Custodio, Ali
Additional Tags: Fluff, Angst, Romance, Drama, Self-Reflection, Alternate Universe -
Canon Divergence, One-sided Semi- Rivals to Friends to Enemies to
Lovers, Slow Burn, takes place after Narda’s kidnapping, Includes
angsty reveal, narda is the sun and regina is the moon, regina-centric
but may switch focus sometimes, lots of self-introspection,
darlentina/reginarda-centric but there might be a lot of background
scenes without them, Action
Language: English
Stats: Published: 2022-09-05 Updated: 2022-09-06 Chapters: 2/? Words:
6660

(i knew you) tried to change the ending

by genuslocii

Summary

Regina spends time with Narda in a desperate attempt to finally sway Brian’s attention back
to herself. It becomes complicated, however, when the lines that separate rival and friend
blur together, when Narda stops becoming the object of her jealousy and instead becomes
its point of reference, and when two dire secrets are unearthed, forcing her to face the
aftermath of her own decisions.

Or: an AU in which Regina befriends and hangs out with Narda so Brian would stop
spending time with her, but it horribly backfires on her when she realizes why Brian likes
Narda so much in the first place.
 Chapter 1
Chapter Notes

this is my attempt to contribute to darlentina nation

in this au, lets pretend na regina is still obsessed with brian even though the show
forgot about that lol

(p.s. forgive my tagalog, di talaga ako magaling dyan)

ALSO: sometimes on this fic, regina will use harsh words on herself (nothing too
harsh, but theres some self-deprecation) so please be aware! it does not reflect my own
thoughts on it, it's more or less just regina feeding into her own self-deprecation. if that
makes you uncomfortable, please just be cautious

See the end of the chapter for more notes

A pill bottle. Running water. Cold against the fingertips. A glass of water. One Biogesic capsule
should be enough.

It’s bitter down the throat, even when neutralized with water. She looks at herself in the mirror,
sees her own eyes. Irises so dark it’s hard to recognize the flecks of hazel swimming in them. She
sees the redness tinting the undersides of her eyes, the bags carrying them.

Regina Vanguardia slumps against the sink, heaving out the heaviest breath. She’s been sleeping
late these days, unable to shake the sense of fear that crawls up her spine when she lays on her bed
each night.

For God’s sake, she needs to get her shit together. There are cases to solve, a foundation to run. She
needs to sort through the documents Ali had left on her table—another defamation case, another
instance of petty crime, of domestic violence, criminal case after criminal case, and now she has to
count the days when someone more powerful than her father might want her dead and—and—when
will this goddamn headache go away—

“Ma’am?”

Regina blinks. She gives herself a moment before she shuts the tap off, pats herself down, and then
walks out of her private bathroom. She sees a familiar petite woman standing there, in her distinct
red EMT uniform.

“Akala ko sinabihan na kitang tawagin akong Regina?”

Narda Custodio chuckles, smiling brightly as she walks over. “Good morning, ma’a—eh, Regina
pala. Naghahatid lang ako ng mga documents. Sabi nila na, eh, total magkaibigan naman tayo…”

Regina smiles, taking the folders from her. “Thanks. Okay ka lang ba? Just checking in, you
know… after everything.”

Narda giggles again, but Regina notes a hint of trepidation tracing her features. “Huwag na po
kayong mag-alala. Okay lang talaga ako. Sayang lang oras mo para mag-alala.”
“It’s normal for a boss to worry about her employees, isn’t it?” Regina shrugs, setting down the
folders on her desk.

Narda smiles at that. “Salamat, m—Regina.” She takes a step back. “Oh, s’ya, ayokong makaabala
pa sa’yo.”

“You aren’t.” Regina smiles, shaking her head, but waves when the girl leaves anyway. She
watches her back retreating from behind the glass doors, feels her own smile droop. She sighs.

She likes Narda, she thinks. She knows she’s a good person, better than even her oldest employees,
than Ali, than herself, even. Still, when she smiles, she thinks back to the same expression being
flashed at Brian.

Your Brian.

Shut up.

She rests her palm on her forehead.

She likes Narda. She thinks she might want to be her friend—after all, she did save her. Once. A
long time ago, on a clear sky, atop an empty cliffside. Her hands warm and soft—the same hands,
warm but now calloused when she’d held hers last time.

Still, a strange venom gurgles somewhere inside her gut, a bitterness snakes itself along her chest
cavities, when she thinks about how Brian smiles at Narda—that damn boyish, dimpled smile—
the way she wishes he’d smile at her.

She likes Narda. But she hates how she makes her feel. Hates the anger that comes up when she
thinks about the countless times Brian had to save her, the time they spend together. Hates how it’s
always a catalyst to the headaches, the voices—they’re worse now than ever. Ever since Bautista
died, her headaches have worsened, the voices, once garbled, have become much clearer, and
oftentimes, she has to drown herself in alcohol to make them shut up.

Patayin mo siya…

Kunin mo siya…

Sa’yo si Brian, diba…?

Shut up.

She slumps against her desk. Pathetic. Regina Vanguardia, slouched over her desk, felled by
imaginary voices in her head and a mean headache. What’s dad gonna say when he finds out his
daughter is a schizophrenic maniac? He’ll probably just be worried about his reputation going
down the drain.

Well, meron sigurong paraan…

A thought flickers through her mind, and it makes her snort. She pushes herself off her desk, turns
in her cushioned seat to face the large windows, at the less-than-ideal view of the cityscape outside.

There’s a knock on the door, and in peeks Ali. Tough as he looks, he always seems timid around
her, slumping his shoulders and pursing his lips. As if he wants to appear small to her. Even more
so now than before. She pretends not to notice him as he steps through.
“Ma’am?”

“Ali, siguro nababaliw na ako,” she mutters, massaging two fingers against her temple.

The man halts halfway into the room. “Bakit po, ma’am?”

Regina snorts. “I’m worrying over trivial things. Worrying over a stupid headache, over…” she
shakes her head. “I haven’t had a good win lately, and—and parang… parang nawawala na yung
sarili ko.”

Ali pales at that. “Ano po’ng ibig mong sabihin, ma’am?”

Regina looks at him, finally. “I feel like I’m losing my… style! Yung ‘wow’ factor! Or, or—yung
kakayahan ko. I feel like some pathetic version of myself.” she stands up, laughing at her own
ridiculous words, as she makes her way to stand in front of the large windows in her office, resting
her knees against window nook. “I’m tired all the time, my head’s killing me, wala pa akong case
napanalunan these past few weeks, at dumarami-rami lang yung mga trahedyang nangyayari dito.
Tapos nandiyan pa yung nakakainis na Babaeng Lumilipad na ‘yan!”

She catches Ali sighing (in… relief…?). “Siguro pagod lang kayo, ma’am?”

“Pagod nga ako, pero di naman normal na maging pagod palagi,” Regina huffs. “I’m Regina
fucking Vanguardia. I’m always on top of my game. Not… not like this.”

Ali’s eyes seem to soften at that, and he takes a step forward. “Tao naman rin po kayo, ma’am.
Siguro kulang lang po kayo ng pahinga.” A beat, then, “Maybe you should spend time with
someone. Like… si Brian, for example. Magkaibigan naman kayo, diba?”

‘Magkaibigan.’ She suppresses an urge to smile and repeat that no, she wants to be more than
friends.

And again, she suppresses an urge to roll her eyes because like hell Brian would spend time with
her. When they were younger, maybe a year ago, maybe he would. He’d awkwardly followed her
around like an eager puppy then, because “belib na belib talaga ako sa’yo, ma’am, hanga-hanga
ako sa ginagawa mo.”

At the time she’d found him cute—just cute—but lately, he’s become the only person she could
actively rely on, fully depend on, without it eating at her morals. The one good person she can
trust, that quells the anger, the voices in her head. And meanwhile, Ali is nice, and Ali obeys, but
Ali’s whole world is her and she knows—and though useful, a small part of her hates how he’d
ignore everything, even his own morals, just to bend the world over for her. And the voices seem to
like that.

And she wonders if maybe a small part of Ali hates her for it too.

And she wonders if maybe that’s why she wishes Brian was her partner instead.

But Brian isn’t, and Brian nowadays has found a new owner to snag his puppy leash on. Someone
worth ignoring her over. That bright and sunny girl, a girl she loathes to hate and loathes to like.

Someone she wishes were her friend, someone she wishes she’d never met, someone she wishes
never got involved in any of this.

She blinks, turns to Ali. “You know what, that’s not a bad idea.”
The man looks as if he was stung, but quickly schools it. “With Brian?”

Regina scoffs as she pushes herself off the glass pane. “No. I’d like to be friends with Narda.”

Ali gives her a bewildered look. “Akala ko di mo siya gusto.”

“Who said that?”

“Well, naalala ko lang yung time na… tinawagan mo si Brian…”

“Should I be bothered by that? She’s just his friend, just nothing,” Regina waves him off.
“Anyway, you don’t need to be driving me home tonight, so pwede kang umalis ng maaga.”

Ali doesn’t say anything as Regina sits herself back down on her chair, thumbing through the
documents on her table. A minute passes before he steps forward, placing a gentle hand on the
table.

“Sigurado ka bang kaya mong gawin ‘yan?”

Regina quirks a brow. “Ang alin? Befriending a nice girl? Wait, actually we’re already friends.
Anong problema kung gusto kong makipag-bonding with a friend?”

Ali looks at her suspiciously. “So… wala kang… balak?”

Something stings, deep inside her. Regina looks up, glares at the timid man before her. “And what
do you mean by that?”

Ali looks away. “Nothing.”

“I…” Regina sighs, puts the document down. She levels him a hard look. “Hindi ako isang
kontrabida, Ali. Besides, sa ating dalawa, hindi ako ang nag-hire ng isang carnapper na sirain yung
brakes ni Protacio.”

A tense silence fills the air, charged by their locked gazes, Regina’s a simmering poison and Ali’s
a fading conviction. It takes a moment before the man finally looks away, taking a step back and
nodding. He says nothing else as he walks out of the room with slumped shoulders.

Regina sighs. Di ka ba talaga kontrabida? Kaibigan mo naman si Ali, diba?

She refuses to dwell on it, instead turning to her desktop and finding a document containing her
employees’ personal info.

--

Narda bounces a little down the steps of Vanguardia Foundation, typing in a quick goodbye to a
worried Brian, as a black sedan rolls to a stop in front of her. She stops in her tracks, uncertain.

When she sees Regina’s face emerge from the rolled down windows, she breathes out a sigh of
relief.

“Regina, ikaw lang pala yun.”

The woman smiles. “Get in.”

Narda quickly obeys, opting to take the front passenger seat. She wonders briefly if it’s okay, but
Regina doesn’t seem to mind, smiling widely instead when she’s buckled in.

“Salamat po talaga, ma’am,” Narda says. “‘Di niyo na talaga kailangan pang ipag-abala.”

Earlier in the day, Narda was surprised to find a text message from Regina herself, offering her a
ride home when her shift was over. Though hesitant, she didn’t want to be rude and turn it down
after the first time the woman had insisted.

“Ano ka ba—ayokong mapahamak ka na naman. How many times have you been dragged to the
epicenter of some crime? Diba na-kidnap ka pa nga?” Regina huffs as she pulls down the gearshift
into normal, maneuvering the car out the company’s driveway. “Hindi naman available si Brian
palagi para sagipin ka.”

Narda shifts in her seat. “Hindi ko naman ginusto…”

Regina glances at her, smirking. “Lately, you know, para kang isang magnet. Parang ano-ano man
lang na mga gulo ay nakasunod palagi sa’yo.”

“Hindi ko rin ‘yan sinasadya,” Narda chuckles. “Pero ‘yan lang talaga ang realidad ko. Realidad
dito sa Nueva Esperanza.”

“Still, I admire you, you know,” Regina turns the steering wheel. “Through it all, nagtiyaga ka.
Masipag ka pa rin sa trabaho mo, at alam ko, hanga-hanga rin ang mga tao sa’yo.”

When she glances over again, Narda’s lips are quirked up to one side, and her cheeks are darker
than normal (if only it were daytime, maybe she would know if it was the shadows or a blush).
“Binobola mo lang ako, ma’am. ‘Di naman ako ganyan ka galing. Ikaw nga yung kahanga-hanga.
‘Di mo talaga kailangang gawin ‘to para sa’kin—after all, empleado naman lang ako.”

“Regina,” she corrects again, “At ‘di kita binobola, noh. Besides, I’m not just doing this out of the
goodness of my heart,” she flutters her lashes, delighting at the way Narda giggles at that. “Meron
akong ulterior motive, actually.”

“Huh?” Narda looks at her. She wonders why she seems to pale at that.

Then, with an internal slap to her face, she realizes—of course she’d be scared. This girl has been
through way too much within the span of two weeks. Regina reaches over to pat her thigh quickly.
“I wanted to take you out to dinner.”

Narda blinks. “Dinn—Regina, gusto mong mag-date?”

Regina fails to suppress a burst of laughter from her lungs. Thankfully, the stoplight’s red, and she
doesn’t accidentally crash into the vehicle ahead of them.

“Want it to be?” she quipped.

“Di—ah, er, I mean—no, hng—hindi sa ‘di ko gusto pero—” Narda is tinged visibly with red now,
and it makes Regina laugh even harder.

“It’s okay, Narda; it was a joke. Gusto ko naman lang mag-eat-out,” Regina says through fits of
giggles. “Thought maybe I could spend the time getting to know you instead?”
Narda grins, but pauses, suddenly hesitant. “O-okay lang po ba talaga, Regina? I mean, ikaw pa rin
yung boss ko. Baka aakalahin akong sipsip…”

“Kung may sasabi niyan sa’yo, sabihin mo lang ako, and I will make sure they will be gone the
next day,” Regina says seriously. In the distance, she sees the restaurant finally take into shape
through the thin fog of the night.

“Huwag naman po. Parang masyadong maliit na rason lang yun para paalisin ang tao…”

“Narda, our company is all about serving people and giving them the justice they deserve. Kung
‘yan ang pinapractice namin sa labas, ano naman lang ang sasabihin sa iba kung malalaman nila na
hindi pala natin pinapanindigan ‘to sa loob ng kompanya mismo?” she chances a glance her way as
she pulls into the restaurant’s driveway. “I refuse to foster such a toxic environment where
friendliness is somehow equated to being ‘sipsip’. Diba sabi ng mama mo nga: ang pinakalaking
kasalanan ay kung meron kang kakayahan, pero wala ka namang ginawa?”

It takes a moment for Narda to reply, but when she does, it’s punctuated by a soft laugh, and
afterwards, an even softer smile. Her eyes seem to twinkle when they meet hers (and Regina
wonders if she’s ever seen kinder eyes in someone, even kinder than that of Brian’s).

“Mabait ka talaga, ma’am Regina.”

“Ma’am na naman—”

The girl places a warm hand over hers. Everything seems to freeze in this moment in time, here,
trapped in a warm gaze’s embrace. The car’s engine has been shut off, and only the night’s quiet
ambience has pervaded their space.

“Salamat, Regina,” Narda says. “Mabait ka talagang tao, kaya mula noon pa, hinahangaan na
talaga kita.”

It takes another moment for Regina to return to her bearings, and when she does, all she can do is
smile and nod and step out and walk over to open the door for Narda. She doesn’t walk beside her,
instead pacing herself just a bit faster than the other girl, because she can’t look at her and her
sunny countenance shining brightly amidst the dark night. She can’t.

How can she? When she knows that this isn’t just about friendship, about kindness, about a boss
protecting her employee—when she knows this entire thing is really just a ploy to get her away
from Brian once and for all.

--

The night passes by in a blur, amidst bright chandelier lights, the ambience of classical tunes, and
the soft laughter of a sweet girl undeserving of her little schemes. The restaurant is as stuffy as she
remembers, and she vaguely recalls a crueler part of her choosing it as some weird power play.
Which horse is bigger? This cruel part of her posed the question, and the only answer she received
is Narda’s bright grin and ‘thank yous’ and promises to pay her back someday.

She downs her second glass of wine—she’s certainly not a light drinker, so this is totally fine.

Just enough to drown out the yapping voices.

 But really, she never needed it, because Narda’s voice and laughter is a tad too hypnotizing for her
alcohol-ridden brain to handle. The restaurant is stuffy, and she can tell that Narda is
uncomfortable in here, especially given the weird looks they’d both been getting, but still, the girl
converses with her, tells her jokes, talks about her day, about her family, of small glimpses of Brian
he doesn’t show to her.

And before she knew it, it was closing time, and they walked out a bit lighter and brighter than
they were before they came in.

“Parang ika-walong beses na yata yang tawag na ‘yan,” Regina snickers as Narda clicks her phone
off after another call from Brian, huffing indignantly.

“Para akong bata,” Narda grumbles as she buckles the seatbelt. “Di naman ako girlfriend niya.”

Regina looks away at that word. The g word. She starts the car. “Of course not.”

“Nakakapagod lang. Kung saanman na mapapadpad kami sa parehong lugar, sisigawan kami ng
buong barangay na bagay kami sa isa’t-isa.”

Regina’s grip tightens around the steering wheel. “Well, maybe there’s a reason why. Gusto mo
bang maging girlfriend niya?”

Her heart drops as she notices a pink flush dusting the girl’s cheeks. “Noooo way—" She hears a
cough bounce off Narda’s throat, punctuating the end of her reply. The girl shifts in her seat,
noticeably more awkward than before.

“Hm.”

A chill breezes through the silence in the car. Regina regards her coolly, but says nothing as she
moves the gearshift and drives off. Thankfully, Narda doesn’t seem to notice, confusing her cold
response instead with that of teasing. So, when she drops her off her humble home, Narda turns to
face her through the open window, beaming wide.

“Thank you… for tonight po, ma’am Regina.”

Regina exhales a tense breath, responding only with a teasing shake of her head. When she pulls
away from the driveway, she sees Narda still smiling, still waving at her from her rearview mirror.

When she reaches home, she collapses heavily on her queen-sized bed, too tired to even change out
of her day clothes. Sleep overcomes her easily, and she doesn’t even realize the voices do not
startle her awake, do not invade her dreams that night.

When she awakens, it’s with a start, as she realizes that it’s the first time in days since she’d slept
for eight hours.

Her phone pings with a new message. On the screen, a single message bubble reads:

Narda Custodio [7:31 AM]: good am regina, hope na maganda yung tulog mo! ☺ tysm again for
last night ♥

Chapter End Notes

regina: is she friendly or is she flirting? abangan sa susunod na chapter!

(hope you guys enjoyed)

 Chapter 2
Chapter Notes

not @ regina drinking her sorrows (of making narda mad/sad) away on todays ep
lmaoo literally textbook fruity behavior, istg if only that killer ghost didnt attack, bati
na yata sila :,)

anyways back to the fic, this romance is a slow burn yall, so please be aware that there
really will be barely any heat, and all theyll be going on about is their (fruity)
friendship for a while lmao, but not to worry bc i promise the plot should pick up
soon, maybe sooner than u think :]

that said, thank you for the support in spite of what i believe to be my not so stellar
tagalog haha, i hope you guys enjoy this chapter! <3

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Regina stares at the relatively empty conversation window absentmindedly as she waits for Ali to
pull the car up into the company’s parking lot. Not that she’s expecting anything—because why
would she expect anything from her self-proclaimed-rival-turned-somewhat-friend and generally
naïve girl, Narda Custodio? (I mean, not even a follow-up message after she’d told her good
morning too? Isn’t she a nice girl?)

Truthfully, some part of her also hoped that Brian would send her a message too, then maybe she’d
quiet some juvenile part of her that wishes to proclaim, “Ha! My efforts were totally not a waste!”

But neither party sends her a message, and after a while of restless pondering, she realizes how
embarrassing it is for a woman her age to worry about the fact that she’d been the one who’d sent
the last read message to both of them. Maybe bagay talaga sila. She sighs and clicks her phone off.

Ali glances at her from the driver’s seat. “Okay ka lang ba?”

“Peachy,” Regina fakes a big smile.

It’s not as if she expected to be buddy-buddy with Narda right after that dinner anyway, even after
she’s been consistently letting Ali and herself drive her home whenever Brian couldn’t for the past
week. But as she exits the sedan, a bout of resolve suddenly washes over her.

Baka kailangan ko namang yayain siyang mag-dinner.

Regina finds Narda later in the same office, standing at the same desk, doubled over in laughter as
she jokes around with two of her fellow EMTs—both men, she notes. She stops, peeking through
the doorway before anyone from inside can spot her. Does she not have female friends?

The answer comes within a matter of seconds, as she sees one of the female EMTs get up and
shove her way past Narda, whilst the other group of female EMTs still sitting around the
conference table snicker and cast glances towards her.

Venom sizzles up her insides; in her head a cacophony of voices hiss angrily in the flash of an
instant, and before she can stop herself, a burst of anger pushes her feet to move. She obstructs the
doorway before the lone EMT could walk out. The girl visibly pales. Regina, what the hell are you
doing?

“Good morning, ma’am.”

“Good morning, ah… ano yung pangalan mo?” Regina cocks her head to the side.

“A-A-Aubrey po, ma’am.”

Regina flashes a smile that completely ices over the entire room. “Well, Aubrey. Bakit mo tinulak
si Ms. Custodio?”

“Po?”

Regina glances upward, meets Narda’s wide eyes for the briefest second, before she places her
hand on this… Aubrey girl’s shoulder.

“I’m asking you, why you pushed Narda.”

“H-hindi ko po siya t-tinulak, ma’am… N-nakidaan lang—”

“So, you’re calling me a liar?”

The girl’s eyes widen. “N-no, not at all, ma’am! Please, aksidente lang po talaga—”

“Parang iba naman ang nakita ko. So, ano ngayon ang pinapahiwatig mo? Na bulag ako? Bulag ba
ako o sinungaling?”

“Ma’am, please, hindi po talaga, pasensiya—”

“Alam mo,” Regina leans closer, dark eyes boring deeply into Aubrey’s timid gaze. The girl
chokes on her words. Regina’s voice drops lower, dripping with a venom enough to melt the floor
beneath. “Diba responsibilidad niyong mga EMT na tulungin ang kapwa? Ano kayang mangyayari
kung malalaman nila na ang mga taong liligtas sa kanila… are nothing but big bad bullies?”

The girl pales even more than before, eyes glossing over with forming tears, lips trembling with
fear. It takes everything in Regina not to smile at the sight, it takes everything in her not to indulge
the whispers and hissing and the taunts of the voices crowding her head—

Sige ganyan nga—

May kapangyarihan ka—

Iparamdam mo kung gaano kaliit, gaano kawalang kwenta—

“Ma’am.”

The voices quiet, infilled by the gentleness of Narda’s voice. She turns to meet her gaze, regarding
her curiously.

“Nagsasabi siya ng totoo, ma’am. Nabangga lang niya ako dahil nakaharang po ako,” Narda says,
subtly trying to ease herself between Aubrey and Regina.

Regina hardens her gaze. “Is that so?”

“Yes,” Narda’s own gaze doesn’t waver. Her shoulders are squared, fists clenched at her sides.
As if she’s ready to fight her. Regina steps back, letting out a single huff of laughter. Kung alam
mo lang.

“If you say so, Ms. Custodio. Nasaan si Secretary Racquel?”

“Nasa office lang po niya, ma’am,” It’s one of Narda’s male EMT friends who answer. For some
reason, it irritates her.

“Thank you.” She says simply, not sparing either girls another glance as she weaves her way
through them.

When she closes the secretary’s door behind her, she forces herself to take a deep breath, forces her
muscles to lose their tension, unfurls her clenched fists at her sides. When she sees the secretary’s
bewildered face, she pastes on the widest smile she can muster.

Regina Vanguardia, what the hell was that?

--

Guilt, perhaps.

She watches herself in the mirror, notes the life that had somewhat returned to her cheeks after the
few days she’s surprisingly managed to catch a good night’s sleep. The headache came back in the
noontime, packing with it more bite than necessary. Like teeth sinking deeper and deeper into the
softness of her brain. And now she’s left to dull her senses once again with another shot of
Ibuprofen.

It hasn’t escaped her notice that the pain has considerably lessened ever since her dinner with
Narda. Though, it also has been coming back in waves—she vaguely wonders why. But really,
somewhere inside of her dreadfully seems to have an idea why.

Maybe that’s why she’d been a little too eager to invite her out again a while ago, to grasp at
another chance to dull the pain. Why she’d almost lost control so easily. Does that mean that the
epicenter of this strange pain is her little love triangle with Brian and Narda?

Fucking ridiculous.

“Regina?”

The déjà vu almost sends her sprawling on the floor. She blinks, sighs, turns off the tap, and then
walks out of her office bathroom. Narda stands there, in the doorway this time, looking sheepish.

“Pasensiya kung naisturbo kita ulit.”

Regina waves it off, settling herself down on her desk chair. She gestures for Narda to come in.
“Ano’ng kailangan mo?”

Narda hesitantly walks in. “Uh, gusto ko lang sana humingi ng tawad? Sa nangyari kanina…”

Regina raises a brow. “Why are you apologizing?”

“Eh… kasi naman, parang nagalit ka sa amin, kaya…” Narda tries a smile, but it doesn’t quite
reach her eyes.

“No. I’m asking, why are you apologizing?”

Narda just bites her lip, unable to answer. Regina sighs.

“No wonder you thought na ‘sipsip’ lang ang friendship natin. Ganyan rin ba ang tingin nila sa
relasyon niyo ni Brian?”

“Wala naman po kaming relasyon ni Brian, Regina…” Narda weakly defends.

“Hindi yun ang point,” Regina stands, crossing her arms. “Kailan pa ba nangyayari ito? Bago lang
ba? A month ago?”

Narda scratches the back of her neck. “Wala naman pong…”

“Don’t lie to me, Narda,” Regina hisses, “I know what bullying looks like. Do I look stupid to
you?”

Ganyan nga…! A nasty voice whispers from somewhere inside.

Regina halts. She notices the way Narda avoids her gaze, the way her teeth dig into her bottom lip,
the light dusting of pink along her cheeks. Shit. Regina looks away momentarily, composing
herself, before she turns and approaches Narda once again.

The girl looks up as she places her hand on her shoulder.

“I’m sorry.”

Narda blinks. Once. Then, again. “Uh, w-wala naman po kayong kasalanan, m-ma’am…”

‘Ma’am’ again. Regina, stop being a bitch.

“Meron akong kasalanan. I yelled at you. I was harsh. I’m sorry.” It’s her who takes Narda’s hand
this time, brushing her thumb along her knuckles.

Narda laughs weakly. “Okay lang yun… Regina.” She pulls away. “Sa totoo lang, since the start
pa nangyayari yon.”

Regina’s brows shoot up. “Ba’t ngayon mo lang sinabi?”

“A-ayokong gawing isyu. Gusto ko lang magtrabaho. Wala naman silang ginawang… masama
talaga sa akin. Honest.”

Regina breathes an unconscious sigh of relief. “Still, you could have told someone. If not me, si
Brian.”

“Eh, hindi naman talaga problema sila, Regina,” Narda smiles weakly. “Sa totoo lang,
naiintindihan ko naman po sila. I mean, imagine lang na may isang babae na unqualified maging
EMT, ‘tas bigla lang inaccept, kahit merong ibang mas qualified pa sa kanya. Late pa sa unang
orientation, pero nakapasok lang dahil may koneksyon sa loob? Sino bang hindi magagalit doon?”

Regina purses her lips. She glances at the nearby couch. Maybe this is way out of her expertise, or
their boundaries, or even her pay grade, but—she glances back at Narda’s forlorn expression—she
sighs. “Hey, come sit with me?”
The girl meekly follows her, taking a seat on the couch beside her—with some respectable amount
of distance between them.

“Narda, I’ll be honest with you,” Regina says, “Nakita ko yung stats mo. Nakita ko yung work
ethics mo, yung progress mo in the time you’ve worked here and even before. And honestly?
Nobody else here is as promising an EMT as you. Before you even worked here, ang rami mo nang
natulungan. You risked your life to help others multiple times. I made this company on the
foundation of your mother’s words, and nobody else here, not even me, practices it better than you
do.”

“Pero, kasi, what if may ibang taong mas qualified? Na mas deserving sa EMT posisyon ko—
tapos baka ninakaw ko lang ang posisyon na ‘to sa kanya?”

“Narda,” Regina levels her with a steely but meaningful gaze. “You did not steal this position from
anyone, because you deserve to be here, just like all the other EMTs. Bakit… parang wala kang
tiwala sa sarili mo?”

Narda bites her lip. Regina places a comforting hand over hers. “H-hindi ko alam… minsan kasi,
kahit na sinusubukan ko namang tulungan ang lahat… meron paring iba namang nasasaktan…”

Regina smiles gently, takes a chance to place her other hand on the girl’s other shoulder, squeezing
there. Just once, before she pulls the arm back again. “But hindi mo naman sinadya yon, diba?”

“Kahit na hindi ko sinadya man o binalak, meron pa ring mapapahamak. Merong mga taong hindi
ko mailigtas.” Something dark passes over Narda’s eyes.

“Narda, hindi naman sa ganyan,” Regina looks at her seriously. “In your line of work, you cannot
save everyone. My point is, that you tried to save as much as you can. Sure, maybe you made
mistakes, maybe people did get hurt, but you tried your best to save everyone. Okay naman kung
magkamali minsan, dahil ang mga pagkakamaling yan ay tutulong sa’yong matuto at maging mas
malakas. Para… in the future, you’ll have a better chance at saving more people.

“At alam ko na responsibilidad yan na papanindigan mo. Kaya alam ko rin na you absolutely
deserve to be in this position, here in this company. With me.” Regina squeezes her hand in
reassurance. Hoping that the words would hit, that they’d find their way into this humble EMT’s
heart.

At that, Narda slowly, but finally, meets her gaze. In her dark eyes, Regina sees those twinkling
stars again, buried deep within the flecks of brown dotting them, and she’s unable to suppress a
smile.

“Did that make you feel better, Ms. Custodio?” she quips.

Narda chuckles. “Attorney ka talaga, Regina. Pero… yes, it… made me feel better. Salamat, ha.”
She bumps her shoulder against hers.

“I know,” Regina hums. “You can come to me anytime na kailangan mo ng peptalk.”

Narda snorts as she gets up. “Pag-iisipan ko pa. Pero, kung pwede lang…” she smiles sheepishly,
“Hiling ko lang sa’yo na… sana huwag kang masyadong maging malupit sa ka-teammates ko?
Ayoko talagang gumawa ng isyu kasi. Okay lang talaga ako, eh.”

Regina huffs. “Fine. But if sumusobra na sila, sabihin mo na ako.”

Narda grins. “Deal.”

Regina watches the girl leave, noting the almost subtle bounce in each of her steps as she
practically prances away. And when she disappears off the corner, she slumps against the couch,
slinging her hand over her eyes.

Now, Regina, you’ve done it.

Diba karibal mo yan? Ba’t mo siya tinulungan?

Di mo nga siya niyayang kumain.

“Shut up,” Regina mutters at nothing. Three fingers dig at the palm of her left hand. Her head
throbs in periodic waves, constant and consistent. She reaches down and without looking, dials a
number.

“Hello?”

“Brian,” Regina breathes out, and it feels as if she’s expelled sand from her lungs. “Kamusta? Any
leads on that case I sent over?”

There’s a brief silence on the other end amidst the ruffling of papers. Then, a frustrated sigh.
“Wala pa, eh. Sorry, ha? Babalitaan kita kapag may bagong impormasyon.”

“Dammit,” Regina squeezes her eyes shut, forcing down the strange, unbidden urge to cry. Just one
damn win. Please.

“Regina? Okay ka lang ba?”

The question fills her with a brief moment of hope, one that is immediately squashed by the
memory of Narda’s smile and his boyish, gentle grin. Still, she pastes a smile on. “Wala. Sakit lang
yung ulo ko…” she trails off, hoping maybe he’d get some hint.

However, all he does is grunt, and say, “Mag-ingat ka ha. Uminom ka lang ng Biogesic. Baka
napapagod ka lang.”

Men. Regina heaves out an indignant sigh. “Sige. Salamat, Brian. Update mo lang ako, ha? Please.”

“Opo.” The call ends without so much as a goodbye. She drops the phone down the couch,
watches it tumble softly around its leather surface and thankfully not on the vinyl floors. She
wonders maybe if she had been Narda, would he have immediately rushed to her rescue, would he
have maybe even at least said goodbye, like a gentleman would?

Duh.

She slams a pillow to her face and screams into it.

--

“Night po, Regina,” Narda grins, as she usually does, as she waves the other girl goodbye. Regina,
in turn, smiles and rolls the window of her car back up. Narda stays a moment to watch the sedan
safely drive out of their neighborhood, and when the lights disappear, she sighs wistfully and
makes her way inside her Lola’s traditional home.
“Oh, Apo, mabuti naman at nandito kana. Parang nadadalasan na yata yung pag-oovertime mo,
ah,” Lola Berta chides upon her entrance. She then hurriedly adds an extra plate to the table,
pausing only when Narda asks for her blessing.

Ding, however, excitedly bounds over to his sister to sling an arm over her shoulders. She raises a
brow at him—she’s still a bit bitter now that he’s grown taller than her.

“Meron ka yatang bagong sundo, ate,” Ding teases, moving conspiratorially closer. He gives it a
momentary thought, but then suddenly frowns. “Huwag mong sabihin yun yung poging lalaki na
medyo creepy yung vibes?”

Narda pretends to sigh in exasperation. She supposes this is normal. Their little neighborhood only
ever seems to pay attention when Brian is bringing her home, somehow missing each time Regina
or Ali have brought her home within the week.

“Hindi. Actually, si Regina yun.”

Both her brother and Lola shoot her an incredulous look.

“Diba boss mo yun?” Ding asks her first, pulling away to study her face.

Narda snickers. “Oo… at kaibigan.”

“Grabe naman Apo,” Lola Berta chuckles, ushering both siblings down into their seats. “Tatlo na
ata yung mga taong tagahatid sa’yo.”

“Apat,” Narda corrects before she can catch herself, “kung mabibilang mo ang assistant ni Regina.”

“Pft, deserve mo yata and level na atensyon na yan,” Ding grins amidst a mouthful of rice he’s
shoved into his mouth. “After all, ikaw ang Babaeng Lumilipad, ang malakas, ang magiting—si
Darna!”

“Ano ka ba! Baka may makakarinig sa’yo,” Narda playfully scolds. Though, even as she shoves at
her brother, she’s laughing and smiling and exchanging meaningful glances with her Lola.

And in the midst of the gleeful chaos, a glimpse of a familiar dinner scene flashes through her
mind, and she pauses. Huh. She smiles at the memory to herself, recalling how surprisingly well
her dinner with Regina had gone that night a few days ago. Regina, even in her semi-inebriated
state (“Di talaga ako lasing, ano ba!” she’d said, and Narda just kept giggling as her cheeks
reddened further) had seemed such a lively person, a bit different from her usual cold and icy
persona, but strangely similar as well.

When she settles into her bed that night, she pulls her phone out and scrolls through her messaging
app. She pauses, hovering over Regina’s name.

Ba’t ka kabado? She chuckles at her own meekness and clicks on the name, typing out a message
as quickly as she allows herself before her own anxiety can get the best of her.

Narda Custodio [10:02 PM]: hi regina! gusto ko lang magpasalamat uli sa kanina. tbh yung
words mo… nakakatouch tlga. i rly needed that i think. thank u ♥

Narda hits ‘send’ before she can rethink it and places the phone quickly onto the nightstand. Maybe
she’ll reply in the morning. That’d be good enough. She grins into her pillow. It’s… nice, she
thinks—being able to make a female friend at the foundation, since… well, since none of the other
female EMTs seem keen on even approaching her.
She hasn’t even closed her eyes when the phone rings with a new notification from the nightstand.
She’s surprised to find that it isn’t Brian’s late night ‘goodnights’ but instead one from Regina.

Regina Vanguardia [10:09 PM]: Hello, Narda. Wala yun. At… salamat din, ha? For trusting me
with your… feelings basically. ☺ I hope you know that I meant what I said, that you can come to
me any time… if you’re comfortable with it. ☺

Narda Custodio [10:11 PM]: ofc… tbh, totoo rin yung sinabi ko noon… na kapag tumitingin ako
sa mga mata mo, nawawala tlga yung alalahanin ko… bait mo kasi tumingin hehe.. at, ikaw rin
regina… if ever na need mo rin ng karamay, nandito lng ako ☺ kung super regina ka, super narda
rin ako ♥

Regina Vanguardia [10:11 PM]: Salamat Narda… That means a lot, actually. At haha okay lang
na hindi ako magiging ‘super’ kung nandiyan ka rin… mas qualified ka siguro. Tsaka, magiging
crowded na kaya kapag may dalawang supers dito, diba?

Narda Custodio [10:12 PM]: pfff ano ba naman, like what you say: NONSENSE! syempre may
lugar dito para sa dlawang superhero!... ay wait tatlo pala dahil nandito yung babaeng lumilipad
wahahaha

Regina Vanguardia [10:14 PM]: Ehh… Ayaw ko sa kanya, kontento na ako kung kita lang
dalawang magiging super hero haha

Narda Custodio [10:17 PM]: 2022 na ms regina, di na uso ang magkaribal na babaeng palaging
magaaway wahahahahaha

Regina Vanguardia [10:18 PM]: Kailangan ba talagang maging magkaribal? Ayoko lang sa
kanya hahahaha ayoko siyang makita… at all.

Narda Custodio [10:25 PM]: i mean… parang mahirap namang maiwasan siya… kasi naman
hinahangaan siya ng mga tao……

Regina Vanguardia [10:26 PM]: Simple strategy, Narda. I simply choose to see no evil, hear no
evil, speak no evil ☺

Narda Custodio [10:28 PM]: evil ba talaga yung babae na yun para sayo?..

Regina Vanguardia [10:34 PM]: No. No actually. It’s just that… someone with that kind of
power… if magwawala siya, sino ang makakatigil sa kanya? Ang mga extras? If she makes a
mistake… so many people could get hurt. Or worse: die.

Narda Custodio [10:39 PM]: diba sinabi mo sakin kanina na ok naman lng magkamali… na
matututo ang tao mula sa kamalian nya? na hindi naman kasalanan ng tao yan… as long as
sinubukan tlga nyang tulungin ang iba…?

Regina Vanguardia [10:43 PM]: Iba yan. Tao ka, Narda. Inosente. Hindi mo naman kasalanan
kung meron talagang extras na aatake, kung meron mang mga calamity or disasters. Pero sa
babaeng yun, it’s different. She can probably wreck a building by herself if she wants to. That
amount of power needs a larger amount of responsibility. With so many factors to consider,
mahirap ng ipagtanggol ang taong may mas malakas na abilidad sa normal na tao.

Narda Custodio [10:50 PM]: cguro may point ka naman…

 Regina Vanguardia [10:51 PM]: Attorney ako diba? ☺

Narda Custodio [10:52 PM]: yan lng ba ang pangdepensa mo sa lahat…

Regina Vanguardia [10:53 PM]: Ikaw ang nag-una Ms. Custodio, hindi ako

Narda Custodio [10:55 PM]: ako nga ang uuna… ang mauunang matulog dahil maaga pa bukas!
regina matulog ka na nga! dba masakit yung ulo mo? dapat matulog ka para mawala na yan!

Regina Vanguardia [10:55 PM]: Aba! Wow! Ikaw pa ang nag-uutos sa akin hahaha

Narda Custodio [10:56 PM]: …ok lng po ba yun regina? biro naman lng hehe…

Regina Vanguardia [10:56 PM]: Okay lang… I mean, after all, it’s afterhours isn’t it? Di na ako
boss mo sa oras na ito.

Narda Custodio [10:57 PM]: sa anong universe ka nanggaling at bakit ambait ng mga boss doon?
ano to? nasa ibang planeta ba tayo?

Regina Vanguardia [10:57 PM]: Hindi… I am just a one in a million boss ☺

Narda Custodio [10:58 PM]: heh. swerte ko naman… but regina, srsly dapat matulog ka na. para
makapahinga na ang super intelligent na utak mo ☺

Regina Vanguardia [10:59 PM]: Sipsip ka talaga pala Narda haha… but fine. Good night. See
you again tomorrow. ☺

Narda Custodio [11:01 PM]: gn regina ♥ sana masarap ang tulog at mga panaginip mo ngayong
gabi… at, hehe, sana makakausap uli tayo ng ganito balang araw… ☺

--

Regina Vanguardia [7:02 AM]: Well, what’s stopping us? Good morning, Narda. ☺

Chapter End Notes

narda: alam mo ba ding, ang corny namin dalawa.

(meanwhile, regina, tucked in her bedsheets, pumping her fist in the air: finally! my
plan worked!)

it's been two chapters of reginarda fluff so far, huh? magbabago kaya yun in the next
chapters? abangan sa susunod na lunes!

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